Hidden Lifestyle
by UmiTheUmbreon
Summary: After being restricted to underground living alongside many other pokémon for years, a leafeon and his close friend investigate the mysterious and constant disappearances of pokémon that have been happening throughout Jubilife city. However, the crush he has on the espeon may get in the way of their mission.
1. Home Before Dark

[Only Crystal was supposedly my last story, but I did want to remake one that I published long ago...]

It neared evening in the vivid setting of Jubilife city. A leafeon sat on the edge of a rooftop, gazing down at the busy civilization below him while the sun slowly set.

"Nikon, you do know that we have to be back before evening, right?"

He looked behind him at the espeon that stood behind him. Lavender was his close friend of a few years now.

Nikon nodded. "Yeah, but everything looks so much better at night," he said.

"It's not worth being taken or killed. Come on, we have to go," she replied while walking over to the left side of the roof.

"Fine," Nikon sighed and padded over to stand beside her. There were about five rooftops that they had to jump across. The ground was far too dangerous to traverse at night.

"Just follow me," Lavender said as she judged the distance, backed up to give herself a running start, and elegantly leaped across the open gap between both ledges. She always landed gracefully. Lavender looked back at Nikon, who still seemed to be judging the distance himself. "Nikon!" she said, attempting to hurry him up.

"W-Wait a second!" Nikon rarely ever had confidence in himself, especially when it came to surviving life threatening situations, though they weren't on top of skyscrapers. He took a few steps back, inhaled deeply, and took the leap. His landing wasn't as smooth as Lavender's, but it was still a landing.

"Have some faith in yourself," she said. "Only four more to go."

They reached the end of the rooftops in about ten more minutes. The sun had almost set completely.

"See, that wasn't hard, now was it?" Lavender grinned at him and nudged his cheek with hers.

"I guess…" He replied. Nikon followed her through an open door on top of the roof that lead them down five flights of stairs to ground level. Their home was only a mile or so away.

By staying off of main sidewalks and taking alleyways, the two pokémon made it to the tunnel entrance as soon as nightfall fell upon them.

"Ugh, I know we're going to get chewed out," Lavender said. She pushed through the bushes that lead to the rather compact hole with Nikon behind her, then trotted down the long pathway with an opening at the end.

Once they both reached it and entered the massive cave, they were met by a dusk lycanroc standing in front of them. Lavender flattened her ears and looked down in shame while Nikon stood behind her.

"What are you two doing out at such an hour?"

"S-Sorry, Vermillion. I wasn't keeping track of time," Lavender said to cover for Nikon.

"This entrance must be closed off as soon as evening arrives. You can't risk all of our safety because of your carelessness. We can't afford to be found out by anyone on the surface." the lycanroc said in a strict tone.

"It won't happen again…" That was all she could say.

"I hope not, now go on," he told them both and ordered a few machoke to cover the entrance up with a large rock afterward.

Lavender tugged on Nikon's leg with her tail and began to walk deeper into the vastly open space. The community was kept lit artificially by lamps that had been built on the cave's walls. The main plaza was practically empty since most pokémon were in their rooms for the night. "I'm not staying out that late with you again, Nikon," she said.

"I'm sorry…" He hated it when she was upset with him, which usually wasn't uncommon, but this time was different. Nikon walked beside her in silence until they got to her room.

"It's whatever… goodnight." Lavender gave him a light kiss on the cheek and turned to enter her room.

Nikon watched her cut the left corner at the end of the short hall and disappear into her private area. Each room was initially open at its entrance, but each pokémon had their individual space behind it. Nikon had to go about four rooms down from Lavender's to reach his own, but he was stopped before he could go inside.

"Nikon!" An umbreon trotted up from behind him. "You okay? What were you doing out so late?"

"I guess I like the night. I hate that no one's allowed outside after dark," Nikon said.

"I'm literally a dark type that benefits from moonlight, you have no idea." Moon sat down. "What do you look so sad for?"

"Lav pretty much took the blame for me... and I let her... it's guilt." Nikon just wanted to sleep the night away and hopefully start over in the morning.

"That's rough, do you need any help with that?" Moon offered.

"No, I think I'll just try to get some sleep, thank you though." Nikon entered his room, leaving Moon sitting alone.

He understood how Nikon felt though and would leave him be. "Okay, see you tomorrow!"


	2. A Proper Sorry

Nikon woke up the next morning and sat up on his makeshift bed. It was made of large leaves that he had to replace every so often. It was about that time since they were beginning to dry out, but he was one to procrastinate sometimes. He stepped outside of his room a few moments after waking up and looked down at the plaza. Central was getting pretty busy already, various pokémon occupied it. Nikon mainly wanted to talk to Lavender about the events of last night, but he would obviously have to wait until she was awake for that.

For now, he walked down toward the plaza. Nikon sat near its edge since he wasn't feeling very social and watched others interact. He'd been living underground for far too long, Nikon wanted to find out why so many pokémon were being taken from Jubilife, but he had no idea where to start. He'd never even seen the people that took pokémon before.

"Hey, Nikon."

He heard a soft and somewhat high pitched feminine voice from beside him.

"Morning, Ina," He said to the smaller jolteon and glanced over at her as she sat next to him. She was like a slightly younger and unrelated sister to him.

"What're you doing up so early?" she yawned.

"I kind of messed up last night and upset Lavender. I just want to talk to her when she wakes up," Nikon quickly explained.

"Just ask her to be yours already."

"Huh, why would I do that?"

"You treat everything like it's a relationship when it comes to her. I'm a female too, you know? I notice these things." Ina giggled and watched the plaza begin to slowly fill up.

"Whatever… why hasn't Moon asked you yet? He practically drools over you," Nikon questioned while looking over at her.

"He will, I'm just waiting until he's ready. I'm sure that's what Lavender is waiting for too." Ina pushed her rear back to stretch out her front paws. "Are you hungry? I can get us something now before the plaza starts to really fill up. I hate lines."

"Not at all, you go ahead though."

Nikon sat in that spot close to a half hour, and that was when Lavender had finally come out of her room. He knew this because he'd been looking back in that direction often. She was now walking toward him, elegantly as ever, and Nikon knew he had to gather himself completely before speaking to her.

"Morning," she said once she reached him.

"Good morning…" Nikon could barely talk to her without feeling bad.

"Lavender, I… want to apologize again for last night."

She sat by him but looked off to the side.

"I didn't know you were going to take the blame for me like that, and I should've stopped you. It was my fault, and I won't be irresponsible enough to get us into trouble like that again…" Nikon improvised that apology, and he did better than he thought- that was until she didn't respond.

"Lav," he wanted her to say something, anything to at least acknowledge him.

"Lavender…"

She turned her head to him and grinned at him teasingly. "All right, fine, I forgive you, Nikon." Lavender leaned forward and licked his cheek. "You make it hard to stay mad at you."

He wasn't sure what to say to that, but he did feel his face begin to heat up.

"Want to get something in the plaza?" she luckily asked him shortly afterward.

Nikon was feeling hungry now. He was simply at emotional unrest before. "Sure," Nikon said happily while trailing behind her. His eyes were on her slim body as she lead, and not out of lust, but it just looked perfect to him. Nikon wished he could tell her that without dipping into what would likely be an awkward moment between them both.

The line at all three vendors were fairly long, but there were only about fifteen other pokémon in the line for various types of berries.

"I feel like we'll have to start paying for this stuff someday," Lavender sat at the back at the line.

"I wouldn't," Nikon replied.

"Then… you'd starve."

"No, I would no longer live here," he said.

She sighed, "you're such a rebel, Nikon. Where would you go then?"

"I don't know... just not here. I don't like being stuck down here anyway. If we're wanted out of the city so badly by whoever is enforcing it up there, why don't we just leave?"


	3. The Basics

Soon after their small breakfast, Lavender had wandered off, most likely to talk to others that she knew. This left Nikon by himself, and he'd take this opportunity to go back up to the surface without dragging Lavender along with him this time. He began to walk toward the open tunnel, but Ina must have spotted him.

"Where are you going?" she asked while walking beside him.

"Outside," Nikon gave her a quick reply.

"Can I go with?"

"Huh, why?"

"It's not like I go out a lot… I miss it."

He kept silent for a moment. Nikon couldn't say no to her. He originally wanted to go alone, but Ina tugged at his emotions sometimes. "All right, but you have to stay close to me." This would be Nikon's first time being responsible for anyone. He usually went with Lavender, but she was responsible for him if anything.

They both took the tunnel outside, and Nikon would actively check their surroundings to ensure that they were clear before advancing to the alley nearby. "This way," Nikon told her. "Quick access to the rooftops."

Ina trotted behind, soon following him through an unhinged door and up several flights of stairs "Did Lavender show you this?" Ina teased as they neared the top.

"A long time ago. I'll pass some tips down to you." Nikon hopped up the last step and walked across the rooftop until he got to its edge. "I like watching trainers walk around," Nikon said while staring down at the living city.

"For what?" Ina was watching as well, but her short attention span didn't allow her to find much interest in it.

"Well, for two reasons… there used to be pokémon down there happily walking beside them. I can still picture it… and secondly, maybe I can find out who's been napping pokémon one of these days. I've never seen them before, but I'd like to think they'd stand out," Nikon explained. "Enough of that though. I still have things to teach you," he glanced over at her and walked over to his right. The edge led to the next building, and it was fortunately the shortest gap between roofs. "We're gonna jump this… unless you aren't ready for it yet."

"Of course I am. Can I go first?" Ina took a few steps over to where Nikon stood.

"No, Ina, I couldn't live with myself if I let something happen to you. Follow after me," Nikon said and took a short running start. He easily made the gap, though he knew his landing wouldn't have been as smooth if the space had been any bigger. "Come on, Ina!"

"...Okay!" The jolteon took a deep breath and backed up some, slightly proning her body before darting forward and leaping across her first gap. She glanced behind herself at the previous rooftop and grinned.

"Good job," Nikon said while giving the top of her head a small lick. "The next gap is nearly twice as big." Ina was a bit smaller than he was; so Nikon wasn't sure if it'd be a good idea to bring her across. "...Maybe we should just stop here for today."

"No, c'mon, I want to keep going." She walked over to the next edge and studied the gap. She could make it, but more effort would have to be put into her next leap.

"Ina…" Nikon knew she wouldn't want to take it easy. He was just glad it was him instead of Moon out here to teach her. "Fine, but this is the last one, and then we're going back."

"Okay!" Ina sat and watched Nikon take a much bigger running start than last time; he'd also taken time out to study the gap and prone himself. He made it a few feet over the edge and stumbled just a bit after landing before regaining his balance.

He was still getting the hang of it, but this made him worry for Ina. Nikon shouldn't have agreed to let her jump a larger gap. She luckily gave herself a bigger running start than he did, but as she ran forward, Nikon knew she wouldn't make it. "Ina, stop!" He ran ahead and stopped at the end of the roof, but it was too late.

Before Ina could process his words, she'd already jumped across and landed directly on the edge. "Ah!" Her hind paws immediately slipped, and they were left dangling off of the rooftop as she held on with her front paws.

Nikon acted quickly and leaned forward to grab ahold of the fur on the back of her neck, pulling her light weight up with his mouth.

Ina scrambled the rest of the way up to safety and caught her breath once she was sitting on the platform. Her heart was racing.

"You okay?" Nikon slightly pulled her over to him with his paw. He was glad she was still in one piece.

"Mhm… sorry." Ina closed her eyes and leaned her cheek against his chest.

"It's all right, Ina. It takes time to be able to properly judge distances. Want to go home now?"

She nodded.

"We'll take ground level back home. Stay close to me."


	4. Step One

"Nearly there, Ina," Nikon told her. He'd led them down roads that were typically less or rarely ever populated, though he still wasn't as familiar with his routes as he should be. It caused them to be spotted a few times, but no one pursued the two pokémon. He still didn't know what the catchers looked like. Nikon's flawed knowledge took them down an alley in between a few buildings that were fairly close to home, but it was one he'd never been down before. What set this stretch of walkway apart from the others was how clean it appeared to be aside from a few small blue cargo boxes which was abnormal. As they passed the boxes placed against the walls, Nikon heard what sounded like a groan come from inside of one. "Did you hear that?" he quietly asked Ina.

She gave Nikon a silent couple of nods and stood behind him.

He didn't want to be his curious self while he had Ina with him, so Nikon continued walking forward- but there it was again. He turned around and faced the box. "Hello?..."

"Is-s… that a pokémon?" The male voice said in a weak tone.

"It is," Nikon couldn't believe another pokémon was inside. "What are you doing in there?"

Ina felt uneasy about the situation, though she wouldn't voice her opinion. She instead just stood very close to Nikon.

"I was… I remember being taken… l-last night."

"You were captured…" Nikon whispered to himself. "Do you remember who took you?" Nikon asked.

"No… b-but they might come back."

"Okay… I'm going to bring some help back. Come on, Ina."

The two rushed back home, but Nikon told Ina before they got to the entrance to act casual and tell no one of what she saw and heard. Nikon wanted to tell Vermillion about what he'd found, but only two results would stem from that. Vermillion would either tell Nikon to stay underground and let him deal with it alone which would leave Nikon in the dark from something he discovered, or Vermillion would shrug it off for the safety of every other pokémon here. Nikon couldn't tell him, but he knew who he could tell. He quickly trotted past the busy main plaza and to Lavender's room; then stood by its entrance. "Lav?" he called.

"Nikon?"

"Yes, there's something I have to tell you," he said with anticipation.

"Then come in."

Nikon trotted inside and sat a few steps away from her bed. She was sitting up on it. She tended to replace its leaves a lot more often than he did.

"So, while I was on the surface with Ina, I came across this cargo box in an alley that had a pokémon trapped inside of it. He said he was captured by someone. They'll more than likely come back to get him," Nikon explained.

"Wait, you took Ina to the surface?" Lavender asked.

"Well, yes… but that's not the point. This can be what helps us to identify what the catchers look like."

"Nikon, do you have any idea how dangerous it would be to wait around anywhere near that area?" She lied down on her bed and tucked her tail underneath her stomach.

"There's a tall building above the alley. We can stay on its rooftop."

"It's still dangerous, Nikon."

"So, you aren't coming with me?" he asked while eyeing her.

"Why do you want to go? It's not worth risking your own life for another pokémon that's already caught," she said, growing just slightly irritated.

"It's not for him. It's to find out who's responsible for keeping us underground for years. You don't have to go, but I do," he didn't give her a chance to reply and promptly turned around to leave her room.

"...Ugh," Lavender sighed and trotted after him. "Fine, I'll go, but only to prevent you from doing anything stupid," she walked beside him.

Nikon simply grinned to himself. He knew she'd pull through.

"Where is it anyway?" she asked once they neared the exit.

"Not too far from here. I just hope he's still in there," Nikon felt like he was using that poor pokémon as bait. It wasn't set up by him, but Nikon wasn't bringing the assistance that he told him he would bring. "It'll be quicker to take the ground," Nikon suggested, knowing that Lavender hated taking that route.

"Just lead."

Fortunately, they weren't seen by many. It was hard to keep completely out of sight in broad daylight. Fortunately, there weren't many trainers on the route that they'd taken. The duo got to the building and to its roof in under ten minutes. Lavender sat some feet away from the edge while Nikon carefully scoped out the area and what surrounded it.

"They'll probably come at night, but I can't risk missing them."

"Mhm, and what if we do see whoever it is that has been taking pokémon? Do you want to follow them or something?" Lavender asked, still seeing this as a pointlessly dangerous situation.

"No, but it's the first step," he said.

"Nikon, this isn't a game, and you can't play hero. If you start poking around in this you'll only end up like the rest."

"I just need to know. I can't live day to day underground like nothing's wrong," Nikon said and looked back at her. "Can you?"

"...No, I can't, but I forced myself to a long time ago." Lavender walked over and sat next to Nikon. "I don't want to end up like the pokémon down there, and I don't want anything happening to you either…"


	5. Finding Out

"We are going to get in so much trouble," Lavender said as evening began to fall. She was sitting next to Nikon. "No one has come yet, Nikon." They'd been outside for a few hours now.

"They'll come, they have to," he replied, staring down at the cargo box. As soon as he said this, Nikon saw movement come from the end of the alley to the right. "Lav, look."

"I know…"

They both crouched down a bit to avoid being seen as two figures fell into view below. Nikon was shocked to see what they were, and so was Lavender. Two other pokémon, a braixen and a lucario approached the cargo box.

"They have to be working under humans, but how could they?" Nikon spoke quietly. The braixen wore some kind of black leather jacket and leggings, and the lucario was holding some kind of needle in his hand, probably a drug.

"So, how'd you catch this one?" the braixen asked once they'd stopped in front of the box.

"It was wandering. Pokémon are hard to find here now, the smart ones left," the lucario said and took a step forward to open the box.

"H-Hello? Did you bring help?" The voice came from inside.

"It's awake? Ew, hurry and give it the sedative," she pressed.

"I am, calm down, Mille," he sighed and opened the cargo box, sliding the needle into the pokémon's side while ignoring its pleas for help.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Ace," she snarled at him, folding her arms.

"You are not easy to work with," he mumbled and slung the growlithe over his shoulder.

They both walked back in the direction that they came from, and both Nikon and Lavender were forced to watch without being able to do a thing.

"We need to go tell Vermillion," Lavender said.

"We can't do that, he'll just penalize us for trying to investigate. It's risking lives in his eyes." Nikon walked away from the building's edge.

"That'll happen anyway, Nikon, because we'll return after evening again. We need a reason for being out here," Lavender replied. "Now, come on."

Nikon knew she was right. They would have to tell Vermillion why they came back so late for the second time. He didn't respond and silently followed her back to ground level.

They trotted home quickly to avoid any unwanted situations and arrived at the tunnel's entrance in under ten minutes.

"Here goes…" Lavender took a step forward-

"No, let me go first. I won't let you take another fall for what's my fault," Nikon said and went ahead of her. At the end of the tunnel stood none other than Vermillion, and as Nikon neared, he saw that the lycanroc didn't look too happy.

"Why is it always you two?" Vermillion eyed both pokémon.

"Let me explain-"

"No, Nikon, I don't want to hear any excuses. Do you want to draw attention to the only safe haven we have left?" Vermillion glared directly at him.

"N-No, I found a captured pokémon… today. It was in a cargo box," while Nikon explained himself, he noticed Ina standing off to the side by the plaza with a few others.

"And?"

"I-I was out because… because I wanted to see who the catchers were," Nikon had already begun to brace the response.

"You endangered yourself and could have been followed back here… because your curiosity got the best of you?" Vermillion could have just about snapped, but he kept his calm. "And you too, Lavender?"

"She just went looking for me," Nikon blurted out before Lavender had a chance respond.

"Lavender, is this true?" Vermillion's hard stare could have burned a hole through her head.

She looked down, nodding shamefully. Lavender couldn't make Nikon out to be a liar.

"Leave my sight, Lavender," Vermillion said firmly.

She did, but looked back at Nikon a few times while walking toward the plaza. The last thing she wanted to do was leave him alone.

Vermillion took a few steps forward, standing in front of Nikon. "I have a mind to throw you out there to be captured yourself. You endanger our way of life, Nikon. If this happens once more, I will throw you outside."

Nikon swallowed under Vermillion's intimidating presence. He was dismissed after that, and he walked back to his room with eyes on him.

"Nikon…" Lavender watched him pass by, ignoring what she said.

Ina began to trot after him. She was with Nikon for the first half of what happened.

"Don't, Ina, he needs time." Lavender sat beside her.

Lavender had been in her room for an hour following the incident, but she couldn't sleep at all. She had to check on Nikon.

She exited her room and quietly walked down to Nikon's, entering it without warning. She saw him curled up on the ground at the other side of his room instead of his bed. "Hey…" She said softly and went to sit in front of him. "Thank you for covering for me, even though you shouldn't have."

He still didn't say a word, or budge for that matter.

"Nikon, I know you're upset… and probably embarrassed, but don't beat yourself up over this. You and Vermillion don't share the same mindset down here. We just have to follow his rules since he's in charge."

He finally lifted his head to look at her. "When you left… he said he'd banish me if he ever had to talk to me for that reason again."

"Mh…" Lavender didn't know what to say to that. Knowing Vermillion, he'd definitely go through with it to protect their sanctuary. "I don't think you should go outside for a while then, just until this situation settles down," she told him.

Nikon rested his chin back on top of his paw and sighed.

"You'll be fine," she lied down behind him, sort of spooning him. "But promise me one thing, if we're ever caught together again, Nikon, we both take the blame for it… both of us."

"...I promise."

Lavender grinned down at him while placing her paw on top of his side. She'd keep him company until he fell asleep.


	6. Freeing Her Mind

On that very same night, Ina couldn't sleep. She was still worried about Nikon and very curious about what had happened to that pokémon in the cargo box. Of course, she couldn't ask Nikon or Lavender now. She'd seen Lavender enter Nikon's room a while ago before Ina had gone to her own anyway. She stood up and stretched her limbs; then walked out into the empty and silent plaza.

This was when Ina enjoyed being out here. She had time to think without hundreds of voices filling her head at once alongside being in a completely safe environment. Ina wouldn't be alone for long though, she saw a familiar umbreon come from the corridor of rooms to the left. There were four main rows with about thirty rooms occupying each.

His ears would perk once he'd spotted the jolteon, and he walked a bit faster to get to her. "I didn't know you came out here this late, Ina," Moon said, slowing down as he approached.

"Only when I can't sleep," she both sounded and looked tired.

"What's bothering you?" he asked with concern and sat in front of her.

"You heard about what happened with Nikon, right?"

"Of course, I'm sure everyone will soon enough."

"I was out there with him when he found that pokémon," she said and looked down. "I just want to know what happened to him."

"Well, maybe it's best that you don't." Moon knew that that pokémon likely hadn't been rescued. He didn't want the results to hurt Ina.

"I guess… maybe I should just get back to my room. I'm kind of tired," she said. It made Ina realize that she didn't want to be awake with these thoughts if she could try and help it.

"...Can I walk with you?" Moon asked, not sure of what her response would be based on her current mood.

Ina shyly grinned at him, "sure."

And the two walked back beside each other. There weren't many words exchanged between them on the way, but Ina noticed that Moon kept glancing at her along the walk. "Something wrong?" she asked and looked over to him, just to let him know that she knew.

"Uh, no, why?"

"Nothing…" Ina would rather not put him on the spot, but she did visibly grin while looking away once they got to the entrance of her room. "Thank you for walking me back, Moon," she said while having to look up at him just a bit. They were practically the same height and size.

"Ina, there's… there's probably something I should tell you. I'm not sure if now is the right time, but it's been bothering me to keep it to myself everyday." They were completely alone on a late and silent night, and Moon wasn't sure when everything would line up this way again.

"Hm?" she kept her eyes on him expectantly.

"Well, I like you… a lot, Ina. I have for almost a year now, but I never knew when it was the right time to tell you," Moon said, gazing into her green eyes."

She quietly giggled, "I know, I like you too, Moon."

"You do? Like… in the same way I like you?" His ears perked fully. He was more surprised than he should have been, they have been close for a long time.

"Mhm, a lot," Ina leaned forward subtly, but it was enough for Moon to see, and he wouldn't let her body language go unnoticed. He would lean forward some more, refusing to look away from the adorable jolteon's vivid eyes and slowly connected his maw with hers. It immediately felt like he was dreaming. Moon continued to gaze at her, though her eyes were closed.

Ina had shifted her right paw around until it found his and placed itself atop. "Mh…" She tilted her head to the right within their kiss, embracing it fully as it was their first. Ina did pull away seconds later and opened her eyes. The umbreon that sat in front of her was the most important being in her universe right now, as if no one else existed but them two. "Come…" Ina said softly and turned around to enter her room.

Of course, Moon followed behind her with no hesitance, and they both sat in the middle of her room.

Ina made sure to sit in front of him again. "How long have we known each other, Moon?"

He was very drawn to her at the moment. "About… year and a half now," he replied and saw her smirk a bit.

"And… you know why I like you, right?" Ina said while leaning forward, slowly tracing her tongue along his neck and jawline.

"Ah…" he softly exhaled from his mouth, tilting his head up for her with closed eyes.

"Because you're so kind and sweet, Moon… and it's reserved for me." She pulled back, letting him lower his head.

That was true, Moon wasn't outgoing or overly kind to anyone outside of his personal circle, though he wasn't necessarily mean either. He did have the softest spot for Ina though. She made his day almost everyday. "Of course, Ina. You bring something else out of me," he leaned down a bit and softly nuzzled his cheek against hers.

"Moon, you can stay here for the night… with me, if you want," she said. His company would help her more than anything else would.

"Of course, Ina. Of course I will."


	7. Difficulties Within

"You know what's weird, Mille? He was asking if help had been brought back for him. You know what that could mean…" Ace said. He and Mille were walking back to the inner city with the passed out growlithe.

"Yeah, there's probably more pokémon out there. We'll find them," she replied.

They made it to the drop-off location some minutes later and gave the growlithe to a few people outside of a large brick building. They wore the same outfit Mille did, and that was because she belonged to the daughter of the leader of this operation.

Mille entered the building for the night afterward with Ace following behind. It had five stories with multiple guards occupying each floor, though no one had ever attacked them or tried to. Resembling a mall, the narrow guard railed floors were separated to the far left and right, leaving the glass ceiling visible from ground level. Ten rooms lined each floor, and Mille and Ace had to share one as partners. That was how it went with any duo here.

"I can't wait to get out of this outfit, it's so tight," said Mille while pulling at its collar.

"I'm glad I don't have to wear one," Ace teased while walking to the first flight of stairs. He didn't have the energy to walk though, so he pressed a button on the wall nearby to call the elevator instead.

"It also means you're ranked below me, so say that again, Ace."

His mood completely dimmed after that. She was so cold. He followed her to their room at the very end of the hall and slipped in behind her.

"Finally," Mille mumbled and began taking off her outfit immediately. She stood by her bed, and Ace sat on his at the other end of the room. They had a heater and central air conditioning, and the beds were much softer than they had any right to be.

Ace didn't say a word to Mille and laid his head back on his pillow. He didn't like her personality that much, he was just unfortunately paired with her on his first day. It didn't help that he didn't have a say in anything since Mille was in charge. He'd just try to forget about it for now and get some rest. He shut his eyes for a moment- but that was abruptly interrupted once he felt weight on his bed. Ace's eyes shot open to Mille sitting beside him, and she wore a rather devious smirk.

"Acee," she sung playfully while lifting her right leg over his waist, now sitting in his lap.

He didn't want her touching him, especially not right now. "What, what do you want?" he asked irritably, glancing down at her swishing tail and slim hips. As much as he didn't want her on top of him, he couldn't pretend that Mille didn't have an attractive appearance. Most would consider him lucky, but he didn't.

"I thought that was obvious." Mille's right hand slowly traced itself up from the center of his chest and stopped at his neck.

"Is this the same girl that treated me like I was nothing all day?" Ace shot her a subtle glare that he knew wasn't in his best interest.

"Mh…" Mille's hand quickly moved up and gripped his throat quite firmly, stifling Ace's breath. She leaned down, her face just inches away from his while he looked at her with widened eyes. "Remember who's in charge here, Ace," Millie snarled lowly and lightened her grip, allowing him to breathe once again.

He had to take in air through his mouth in order to catch his breath. She had no respect for him. He was more of a toy to her.

"Now, let's try this ag-" fortunately for Ace, a knock at their door broke the moment. Mille groaned under her breath and pushed his head back into the pillow before getting off of him and going to answer the door.

Ace sat up and held his neck while watching. It was Mille's trainer, and she was just stuck up as Mille. He assumed that's where she got it from.

"Hey, Mille," her trainer softly ran her hand over Mille's head. "You'll have to get dressed again. We're having dinner early tonight… in about fifteen minutes." She also looked over at Ace while pushing a few loose strands of her black hair back that was currently in a bun. "You may come too, Ace, if you'd like."

He nodded from where he sat. The only upside of being Mille's partner was that he gained access to her trainer, and she luckily wasn't as heartless as Mille was. Ace was just glad he wouldn't have to eat mediocre food with the rest of the pokémon tonight.

"Okay, I'll see you two then," Mille's trainer told them before leaving them be.

It left silence between Mille and Ace, but she had to get dressed again, so the tension between them wasn't too heavy. They had to go to the upper class dining area that was near Mille's trainer's room which was a lot classier than he and Mille's brick walled room. Hers held two bedrooms and was much more spacious. That's what Ace needed, his own room to get away from his partner sometimes. He watched Mille silently exit the room once she was done. Ace already knew where to go, so he wouldn't immediately follow after Mille. This would give him a few minutes alone.

He didn't want to be late though, so Ace had given himself only five before exiting the room and going back down to the first floor's lobby. There was nothing impressive down here, it was mostly a big and empty space with tiled flooring. The pokémon and people busying about were what gave the lobby some life. He walked to the very end where a glass door was located, and he was let in by the two people that guarded it since he was expected. There were two dining areas, and the other wasn't as nice as this one. This one was set up like a restaurant and was created for the humans that worked here, though selected pokémon were allowed inside at times if they put in a lot of work daily. Ace was just lucky, that was all, but he didn't slack off on his job.

"Over here, Ace." He heard a familiar voice a moment later and looked around until he saw Mille and her trainer sitting in a booth in a corner. He knew that he'd have to sit by Mille. He wanted no issues to arise whatsoever.

"I'm kind of excited. I'll be turning eighteen soon, and then I'll be able to actually help with this operation," Mille's trainer said once Ace sat next to a composed Mille.

"Ace made sure to give her a grin, and the waiter didn't take long to come after that.

"Oh, Yana, it's good to see you here," the male waiter said to her.

"Thank you... Ace, do you know what you want?" He wasn't here that often, so Yana wanted to make sure.

Ace didn't know yet, and the menu really wasn't even that big. There were about ten options on it. The night was getting better for him so far though, and he'd hope it stayed that way.


	8. A Potential Solution

"I want more information out of Nikon about what he may have seen out there tonight." Vermillion paced back and forth across his room at the far end of the right row of rooms. It was a much larger den than what the other pokémon had, and he had an old mattress to sleep on.

"You should have approached that situation a lot differently then, dear." A female flareon, his mate, was lying on the mattress at the corner of their room.

"Maybe so, but I was so upset with his curiosity. He's always been this way… him and Lavender. They're always leaving the safety of our haven to explore what should not be explored, Ellie."

"You have to understand that they're still young, Vermillion. Of course they'll act this way. You expect them to stay down here forever? They would be unhappy," she said.

"But… it's mainly them. The other pokémon know what fate could await them if they explore the surface," Vermillion went and sat next to Ellie, on the floor.

"They come back in one piece every time… listen, love, I know you only want to keep everyone safe, but you may be being too harsh with your rules and less understanding of their feelings, especially Nikon's," Ellie said while gently nudging his shoulder with her cheek.

"Maybe… I created what we have here years ago when the disappearances started becoming frequent. I don't want this to be for nothing, but maybe you're right, Ellie."

During that night, everyone slept with different thoughts filling their head. Vermillion about his conversation with his mate, Nikon about being scolded and threatened to be banished, and Ina about her newfound relationship.

Nikon slowly opened his eyes hours later and lifted his head. He was still lying on the floor, and he felt something warm pressed up against his backside. Lavender was facing the opposite direction, curled up perfectly and fast asleep. Nikon slowly sat up, staring down at her with a small grin. She looked amazing when she slept; infinitely adorable. Lavender had to have felt eyes on her though as she shifted about for a moment before her eyes sleepily opened as well.

She looked up at Nikon and yawned while stretching out her hind legs. "Morning," she said softly and eventually sat up. "I must have… fallen asleep here last night."

"It's fine, thank you for keeping me company, Lav."

"Well, do you feel any better?" she asked. She didn't expect a full mental recovery overnight, but she hoped he didn't feel as bad.

"A little, it just sucks that I'm stuck down here now," he said. This would definitely depress him over time.

"Hey…" Lavender stepped over to him and softly kissed his cheek. I'm sure this isn't permanent. "Maybe we could go talk to Vermillion when you're ready to."

This made Nikon grin. It was a good idea even though he was slightly afraid of approaching Vermillion.

"Do you want to come with me to get breakfast?" she asked.

"Not… really. I kind of don't want to show my face out there today." Nikon still felt humiliated. He knew he'd have hundreds of eyes on him if he were to exit his room.

Lavender respected that completely, she understood. "Can I at least bring you something back?"

He nodded.

"Then I'll be back," she said while exiting his room. Lavender made her way over to the plaza that gradually began to fill up. She saw Ina waiting by the outermost area that she would have to pass by. "Hey," she sat next to her. "You okay?"

Ina wasn't feeling any negative emotions. "Oh, I'm fine. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night." She wasn't sure if telling Lavender about her updated relationship status with Moon was a good idea just yet. She wanted Nikon to be the first to know anyway. "How's he feeling?" Ina asked and looked over at Lavender.

"A little better… he doesn't want to leave his room today because he feels embarrassed, so I'm bringing him back something from the plaza."

"Can I go back with you? I want to talk to him," Ina asked.

"Sure, and can I ask what you were doing out with Nikon in the first place?" Lavender questioned while they walked ahead to get in line.

"I… just wanted to see what it was like out there. I didn't know we'd run into what we saw," she said. She still felt bad for that pokémon thinking back on it, but Moon was right, there was nothing she could have done.

"I know, we're thinking about going to Vermillion to talk about it today. Maybe he'll lighten up on Nikon's restrictions."

"I can help, I was actually there," Ina offered. They stood in line behind a few others.

"No, Ina, he doesn't know that, and it's best for it to stay that way."


	9. Investigation

"I'm glad you joined me and Mille for dinner, Ace. Night," Yana said while cupping her hand around his cheek endearingly. They stood just outside of the dining restaurant's entrance. She let him and Mille go after that and headed off to her own room for the night.

Ace opened his eyes to darkness. Their room had no windows. He turned on the dim lamp beside his bed on a small nightstand and sat up. That short dream was a small recollection of last night. It must have impacted him emotionally, and Ace knew why. He never received physical affection. Mille didn't count, the only time she did touch him was to benefit herself, and it was never in a loving manner, but Yana was a sweet girl and was so to him as well. If he could, he'd tell her how much he appreciated it.

This positive moment was interrupted by a noise, however. Ace looked over and saw that Mille had woken up as well. She usually woke up early in the morning, so Ace would assume that he'd slept through the entire night. Mille rarely ever spoke a word to him when it was this early. She either wasn't a morning type, or there was simply nothing to be said. He preferred that over her ruining his morning though.

Mille busied herself by sitting up and flattening the edged out pieces of fur on her bushy tail. There wasn't much else to do but socialize downstairs or get something from the dining hall while waiting for her and Ace's shift to start once evening arrived. That was many hours away. They weren't allowed to go outside during the day, and this was to ensure that any pokémon that happened to be seen outside didn't belong and could be reported by trainers that occupied the city. Of course, many trainers instead chose to turn a blind eye, and that was why night shifts existed while much less people roamed about. The dark outfit that Mille and other higher ranks wore outside separated them from pokémon that were stray. Lower ranks like Ace had to stay in close range of their superiors to avoid any mislabeling.

As evening did approach, the two had begun to converse a bit.

"We should search for the pokémon that the growlithe was speaking of," Mille said while placing her outfit on her bed. She usually kept it neatly folded on her nightstand.

"That's gonna be harder than it sounds in a big city like this," Ace replied. He was sitting up on his bed, ready to leave whenever Mille was.

"But… think of what will be in store if we do uncover even a small group of pokémon. I'd be much more respected than I am already," Mille subtly grinned to herself.

Ace wasn't sure how to reply to that. He wished he could change Mille's narcissistic mindset. It was far too late for that though. Her trainer being in such an important position within the operation justified it. "And… maybe I could rank a bit higher."

Mille shot her eyes over to him. "You're a good help, Ace, but, remember… I'm the one leading our missions."

There it was. Without her even having to say it, he knew exactly what she meant. He stayed silent, because what could he say in response to something like that? Ace just had to endure it. He couldn't afford to lose this job and his only place to live.

Just twenty minutes later, their shift had officially started. Them and at least five other duos exited the building.

"Where to first?" Ace asked.

"Where we first found that growlithe. Maybe there's something nearby." That growlithe was found the night before by Jubilife's outskirts. It could have very well wandered in from outside of the city, but there was a chance it hadn't as well.

That was about a twenty five minute walk. Fortunately, Mille remembered the area that they captured the pokémon at. "Look around, see if there's anything out of the ordinary."

Ace would, but not with any enthusiasm. He walked past a few buildings and saw bushes and trees that marked the outskirts of the city. Some more aimless walking brought him over to more buildings, one of which had a completely unhinged door. He didn't feel that it was necessary enough to call Mille over for though. It was likely just an old building that was never tended to. She ended up seeing it anyway since she was over in his area within minutes.

"Couldn't find anything worthwhile, you?" she asked while approaching him.

"No, just… this," Ace stepped aside to present the disattached door to her.

"Hm," Mille scanned it with her eyes. "Why don't we see where this goes?" She entered the building and began walking up its steps while Ace trailed close behind. She reached the top after walking up the five flights and was greeted by a doorless doorway. "This... this could mean something. They could be pokémon that can't open doors, so they knocked them off…"

"But, why would they need to?"

"Less visibility, Ace. We patrol the ground, not the roofs. If that's what this is, they're smarter than I thought…"


	10. Speeding Up the Process

"I… don't know, Lav, at least not this early on," Nikon said after having eaten a few berries.

"I think it'd make you feel better, Nikon. Vermillion may go back on what he said too," Lavender replied, sitting a few feet away with Ina. "Just think about it, okay?"

He nodded, but Nikon already had. It just wasn't something that he had an urge to do. He wanted to keep away from Vermillion as much as possible.

"I'll give you some time…" Lavender didn't want to pressure Nikon, especially while he still wasn't emotionally up to par.

He watched her exit his room, which left only Ina. "And how are you feeling?" he asked her.

She took just a few more steps so that she sat almost in front of him. "Well, I couldn't sleep at all the first night… but Moon helped me through it," she grinned toward the end of her words, and her eyes would light up.

"Spare me the details," Nikon said after seeing her expression.

"Wh-What?" Ina felt her face begin to heat up. "It wasn't like that!"

He chuckled, "I'm kidding. I'm glad you're doing okay, Ina."

"But… you aren't."

"Don't worry about me. I just need to let this blow over."

"Maybe… you should go talk to Vermillion like Lavender said." Ina stood up. "I-" and just as Ina was about to continue, she heard a voice come from behind her.

"Oh, hello you two." It was Vermillion.

Nikon held his breath upon seeing him and sat up straight while Ina stayed quiet.

"I wanted to ask you a few questions and clear some things up," he said while taking a few more steps into the room. "Is this a bad time?" He glanced at them both.

"N-No, sir," Nikon replied. It was odd to him already that Vermillion was acting calmer than he usually would be.

"Good, I first want to know what you saw, Nikon, exactly what you saw." Vermillion eyed him intently for a moment, but glanced beside him at Ina. "I'd like to speak to Nikon alone about this information."

"I… was there," Ina blurted out. She remembered what Lavender had told her, but she couldn't miss this.

"Is this true, Nikon?" Vermillion looked back to him.

He nodded, Ina hadn't seen the catchers, but it wasn't worth explaining.

"Go on then."

"Well, they seem to be pokémon… the catchers. I saw a braixen wearing some dark outfit and a Lucario take a captured growlithe away," Nikon explained with ease. He would never forget such a sight.

"Hm, they likely belong to trainers," said Vermillion. He shifted his paws for a second. "Nikon, I also want to apologize for what I said to you the night before. I just want to keep everyone here safe. The moment we are found, we'll have to relocate and live in the wild. We're supposed to live out there, but here, in Jubilife, we have always had a strong community of our own. Life in the city is all that we know, and we coexisted with trainers peacefully until… this happened. If we are forced out, Nikon, everyone would be split up. I will not banish you, but I ask that you please be more careful and avoid further investigation into this ordeal."

"Of course," Nikon said. He felt free to breathe a little.

"Okay, I think that's all I have to say for now. Thank you for cooperating, Nikon." Vermillion gave a single nod and exited the room.

Immediately, Nikon released his breath in the form of a deep sigh. He felt both mentally exhausted. He had been holding onto so much pent up emotional anguish inside of him, and that talk had helped release a decent amount of it.

Ina turned and gave his cheek a soft nuzzle with hers. "You did it."

It took him a moment, but Nikon calmed down and placed a soft kiss atop her head. "Thank you for staying, Ina."

"Mhm, even though Lavender told me not to tell Vermillion what I did tell him."

"Just… don't tell her-"

"Don't tell me what?" Lavender had conveniently entered as soon as he'd said that.

Ina turned to her. "Oh, Lavender, Vermillion just stopped by! You missed everything," she said.

"Really?" Lavender's ears perked while she stood.

Nikon decided to take over. "Yeah… he just asked what I'd seen and gave me a safety lecture. He apologized as well and said I wouldn't be banned."

"That's great," Lavender said with relief. "It seems unlike him to apologize though."

"I know, and he was so calm about everything. At least it's resolved now," he said. Nikon still would confine himself to his room for today though.

"I'm… gonna go find Moon. I'll see you guys," Ina said while trotting off. It wasn't hard to bore her.

"So, any better?" Lavender walked over to him and gently nudged his cheek with her nose.

"I guess, I know he still wants me to stay inside since I cause trouble…" He wasn't sure how to feel, but it was nothing close to happiness.

"Nikon, it isn't your intention. I know you want to help, but there just isn't much you can do about this. I'll always side with you, but I don't want you endangering yourself," she said. Lavender knew he understood, but he still looked depressed. "...Why don't we go out later, Nikon? Just us two for a few hours."

He felt unsure about it for multiple reasons, but he couldn't say no to Lavender. "Sure…" Everything would be fine as long as she led anyway.

"We'll be back far before evening to make sure nothing goes wrong."


	11. Sorry

I don't know if I'm up to continue this story. It's no good to me, and I don't think I'm carrying it well at all. Someone else could continue it, or I may revisit it later, but I don't know how likely that will be. (50/50)


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